More Images

Who Dat? Hint: It's not Saints' Coach Payton

Published: Friday, January 15, 2010 at 11:45 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, January 15, 2010 at 11:45 a.m.

CHACKBAY — While Tyson Panvelle sees the resemblance, he doesn't consider himself an identical lookalike to the man lots of folks are hoping will bring home a Super Bowl championship.

But there are other people who say Panvelle is a dead ringer for fourth-year New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton.

“It was during (Payton's) first season,” the 35-year-old Chackbay native said. “I went out of town on a business trip” and “I wore my Saints stuff.”

On his way home, Panvelle said, he noticed a worker following him to the airport's shuttle bus.

“Kind of chasing me,” he said. “He got on the shuttle bus with me, and it was just me and him on the shuttle bus. He was like, ‘Oh man, you're Sean Payton.' ”

Panvelle told the man he wasn't, showing him his driver's license to prove it.

“When I'm walking in stores and I've got my visor on, people definitely do double-takes,” Panvelle added. “You could walk right behind me and watch the people just look.”

A married father of two, Panvelle works as an account manager for Pepsi, where his co-workers and friends sometimes call him coach. He also works with his uncle for the golf-photography business Capture Action.

Panvelle, a lifelong Saints fan, admits he noticed the resemblance in 2006, when Payton was hired as head coach.

“It's probably the eyes,” Panvelle said. “I don't think I look just like him, by any stretch of the imagination. I definitely think I resemble him.”

It didn't take long for others people to pick up on it, too.

“I remember going to the Chackbay Gumbo Festival and before I even got to the gates, people were saying, ‘Yeah, you look just like Sean Payton,' ” he said.

For Panvelle, the similarities are simply a coincidence that give him an unusual link to his favorite NFL team and the coach he'd one day like to meet.

He's more focused on the excitement surrounding the Saints this season.

“I catch myself Monday mornings listening to the radio, just to hear what people are saying about them,” he said.

And when it comes to the playoffs, Panvelle is optimistic about the black and gold.

Like other long-suffering Saints fans, he's hopeful that this is the year they'll come out on top.

The team had a perfect record for much of the regular season, ending with a discouraging three-game losing streak.

Payton's look-alike says that the losses — to the Cowboys, Buccaneers and Panthers — will serve “to motivate them.”

“I'm kind of the wrong person to ask that,” he admits. Like other die-hard Saints fans, he's optimistic “they're going to do it every year.”

As for Payton, “I really like him a lot,” Panvelle said. “I like his aggressiveness. I like his play calling.”

But, Panvelle said, he's equally impressed with his doppelganger's actions off the field.

“I hear from a lot of people that he's such a good guy. He works with the community,” he said. “I respect that a little more than what's on the field.”

<p>CHACKBAY — While Tyson Panvelle sees the resemblance, he doesn't consider himself an identical lookalike to the man lots of folks are hoping will bring home a Super Bowl championship.</p><p>But there are other people who say Panvelle is a dead ringer for fourth-year New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton.</p><p>“It was during (Payton's) first season,” the 35-year-old Chackbay native said. “I went out of town on a business trip” and “I wore my Saints stuff.”</p><p>On his way home, Panvelle said, he noticed a worker following him to the airport's shuttle bus.</p><p>“Kind of chasing me,” he said. “He got on the shuttle bus with me, and it was just me and him on the shuttle bus. He was like, 'Oh man, you're Sean Payton.' ”</p><p>Panvelle told the man he wasn't, showing him his driver's license to prove it.</p><p>“When I'm walking in stores and I've got my visor on, people definitely do double-takes,” Panvelle added. “You could walk right behind me and watch the people just look.”</p><p>A married father of two, Panvelle works as an account manager for Pepsi, where his co-workers and friends sometimes call him coach. He also works with his uncle for the golf-photography business Capture Action. </p><p>Panvelle, a lifelong Saints fan, admits he noticed the resemblance in 2006, when Payton was hired as head coach.</p><p>“It's probably the eyes,” Panvelle said. “I don't think I look just like him, by any stretch of the imagination. I definitely think I resemble him.”</p><p>It didn't take long for others people to pick up on it, too.</p><p>“I remember going to the Chackbay Gumbo Festival and before I even got to the gates, people were saying, 'Yeah, you look just like Sean Payton,' ” he said.</p><p>For Panvelle, the similarities are simply a coincidence that give him an unusual link to his favorite NFL team and the coach he'd one day like to meet.</p><p>He's more focused on the excitement surrounding the Saints this season.</p><p>“I catch myself Monday mornings listening to the radio, just to hear what people are saying about them,” he said.</p><p>And when it comes to the playoffs, Panvelle is optimistic about the black and gold.</p><p>Like other long-suffering Saints fans, he's hopeful that this is the year they'll come out on top.</p><p>The team had a perfect record for much of the regular season, ending with a discouraging three-game losing streak.</p><p>Payton's look-alike says that the losses — to the Cowboys, Buccaneers and Panthers — will serve “to motivate them.”</p><p>“I'm kind of the wrong person to ask that,” he admits. Like other die-hard Saints fans, he's optimistic “they're going to do it every year.”</p><p>As for Payton, “I really like him a lot,” Panvelle said. “I like his aggressiveness. I like his play calling.”</p><p>But, Panvelle said, he's equally impressed with his doppelganger's actions off the field.</p><p>“I hear from a lot of people that he's such a good guy. He works with the community,” he said. “I respect that a little more than what's on the field.”</p>